Get Thee to a Punnery proves that the pun is mightier than the sword . . . and here are sidesplitting puns of every color, stripe and persuasion to suit every whim. Even if you don't know that your humerus is your funny bone, this is the book for you. The Time of the Signs: On a diaper service truck: Rock a dry baby. On a plumber's service truck: A flush is better than a full house. Show me where Stalin is buried and I'll show you a communist plot! -Edgar Bergen Quiche me-I'm French! Hangover-the wrath of grapes Work is the ruin of the drinking classes. -Oscar Wilde
"The Pun Is Mightier Than The Sword... Richard Lederer has great puns. And you don't have to take vows to enjoy them. Just "Get Thee To A Punnery and laugh yourself int a state of grace. Sinners will be punished with such gems as: -Old Milkmaids never die -- they just kick the bucket. -Drunk drivers are people who put the quart before the hearse. Whether you like 'em hot or cool, straight-up or low-down, here are puns of every color, stripe and persuasion to suit your every whim. Even if you don't know that your humerus is your funny bone, this is the book for you.
In this exhilarating and often hilarious book, David Crystal examines why we devote so much time and energy to language games, how professionals make a career of them, and how young children instinctively take to them. Crystal makes a simple argument-that since playing with language is so natural, a natural way to learn language is to play with it-while he discusses puns, crosswords, lipograms, comic alphabets, rhymes, funny voices taken from dialect and popular culture, limericks, anagrams, scat singing, and much more.
Yes, it’s true: you can learn how to be a verbal wizard! Ever hear someone utter an unforgettable phrase and feel yourself reacting with with…well, awe? Ever read a great quote and think I could never come up with anything that clever? Daunting as it may seem, there’s nothing mystical about witcraft. Crafting memorable lines doesn’t require DNA-encoded brilliance. What it does require is some knowledge of the tricks and techniques that make words stick. In Word Hero, Jay Heinrichs rescues the how-to of verbal artistry from cobwebbed textbooks and makes it entirely fresh– even a little mischievous. Fear not: on offer here are not dry, abstract ideas couched in academic jargon. Rather, Heinrichs takes you on an amusing – and amazingly helpful – tour of the mechanisms that make powerful language work. You’ll learn how to slyly plant your words in people’s heads and draw indelible verbal pictures by employing such tools as “crashing symbols,” “rapid repeaters,” “Russian Dolls” and even the powers of Mr. Potato Head. With those tools and others tucked in your utility belt, you might not immediately achieve “wordsmith immortality” but you will become a better speaker, writer, and raconteur…and long after people have forgotten everything else, they’ll remember your priceless lines.
At once entertaining and educational, this engaging book is a funny, erudite, and provocative exploration of puns, the people who make them, and this derided wordplay's remarkable impact on human history.
In what other language, asks Lederer, do people drive on a parkway and park in a driveway, and your nose can run and your feet can smell? In CRAZY ENGLISH, Lederer frolics through the logic-boggling byways of our language, discovering the names for phobias you didn't know you could have, the longest words in our dictionaries, and the shortest sentence containing every letter in the alphabet. You'll take a bird's-eye view of our beastly language, feast on a banquet of mushrooming food metaphors, and meet the self-reflecting Doctor Rotcod, destined to speak only in palindromes.
This extensively revised and expanded edition of the bestselling text and teaching resource incorporates the newest research in vocabulary learning and instruction into a complete and balanced program for all K–12 students, from those who struggle in school to those who excel. Literacy expert Michael Graves presents a four-pronged vocabulary program that he has developed and honed for over 30 years. The program has the following four components: Frequent, Varied, and Extensive Language Experiences; Teaching Individual Words; Teaching Word Learning Strategies; and Fostering Word Consciousness. The text includes theory, research-based strategies, vocabulary interventions, classroom examples, advice for working with English learners, discussion of next-generation standards, and more. The Vocabulary Book, Second Edition will appeal to reading and subject-area teachers, teacher educators, and school, district, and state leaders. New for the Second Edition: Instructional approaches developed and classroom-tested since the release of the first edition. A chapter specifically on teaching vocabulary to English learners. A chapter specifically on selecting vocabulary words to teach. Curricular and instructional elements designed to meet and exceed Common Core State Standards. An emphasis on vocabulary as a vital resource for all students in our increasingly diverse society. “If you believe vocabulary instruction is vital to reading, writing, and thinking, then Michael Graves’ Second Edition of The Vocabulary Book will give you the tools for powerful instruction, as many teachers discovered with the First Edition. This book will shift your perspective and you will reap the benefits of placing vocabulary at the center of your instruction.” —Peter Dewitz, district level reading consultant, Mary Baldwin College “Now that ‘vocabulary’ is included on the Nation’s Report Card, teachers will want to know how to help students increase their word power. Graves’s advice will be invaluable in what to do—and what not to do.” —Robert Calfee, professor emeritus, Stanford University “This book is an excellent resource for practitioners interested in developing a comprehensive program for building vocabulary in children. It is also of great value for researchers who wish to design and test vocabulary interventions.” —Diane August, senior research scientist, Center for Applied Linguistics
All the joy of the best-selling Anguished English is back! 2,000 all-new side-splitting flubs, fluffs, and hilariously funny accidental assaults on our language.
